#41: Two Unlikely Questions To Help You Unlock Your Purpose
I’m here to create better ways to live...and I do this by helping others live what matters most.
What does this mean? So many things:
Holding the vision of what’s possible for others
Connecting people to their dreams
Getting people to imagine the thing they’re working toward
Helping others tune into what makes them come alive
Just to name a few. Oh, and having fun all along the way!
This is how I carry out my purpose. But it hasn’t always been this way. And that’s okay.
We often get hamstrung when we think there’s a particular or singular manifestation of our purpose. But you can see in what I shared above that my why could be carried out in so many ways...and I find that both energizing and emboldening.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a useful equation for purpose is “How do you want to grow and how do you want to give?” But when you answer this question, think in terms of now. Not 10 years from now. This sounds like an oversimplified and reductionist approach but there’s so much more behind this powerful equation related to the science of flow, growth mindsets, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and more.
If you’re needing a bit more, though, you’re in luck today as I’m going to share a few guiding questions for you to help you unlock your purpose. These are just a small sample of the fun and interesting approach you’ll learn inside Purpose Camp. If you haven’t yet signed up for it, what are you waiting for?!
Okay, let’s dive in.
You might be here now because you’re looking for your dream job, thinking about starting a second or third career, or you maybe don’t want to spend your entire life wondering “What if?” Wherever you are at this moment, welcome.
I’ve got a couple of thought-provoking questions that’ll help you get started and then the rest we’ll do together once you join Purpose Camp.
A quick bit of guidance before we get started: clarity comes from action, not thought. So roll off of your Crate & Barrel Lounge couch that’s so impossibly comfortable that it sucks you in like a vortex--I should know as mine absolutely does this to me--and put down that pint of Haagen-Dazs because discovering what’s calling you now to grow and give is going to require some effort on your part. But effort and fun aren’t mutually exclusive!
Before we dive into this first question, I want to share one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard from a business leader, Monica Nassif, “if you’re going to eat shit, don’t nibble.” I don’t think she’s the originator of this sage advice but she’s a tremendous inspiration in her own right.
“If you’re going to eat shit, don’t nibble” is related to the first question: Which turd sandwich will you eat? Because life isn’t rainbows and sunshine every day and what you pursue will always have a cost. So what’s the pain you wish to sustain?
Nothing is pleasurable or uplifting all of the time...even massages. Ever had a weak one? Yeah... me, too. It was awful.
When it comes to living your purpose, you’re going to hit rough patches. It’s inevitable. So the question becomes: what are you willing to endure?
As a business owner, I’ve learned to handle a steady stream of failures. And ridiculously long hours.
As a singer, I’ve endured a lot of unsolicited feedback about my talent and performances...and rejections from auditions.
Failure and rejection are the prices I’m willing to pay as I work to get entrepreneurship and singing right.
So what flavor of turd sandwich are you wanting to eat? Because you’ll be served one at some point.
When you consider this question, you’re essentially clarifying two things:
What struggles you’re willing to tolerate to get what you want
What you’ll likely be better at than other people
Okay, let’s move on to the next question…
Before I share it, I want to contextualize things a bit with a snapshot of 7-year-old Meghan.
7-year-old Meghan would shout-sing “Christmas in Killarney” as she walked her half-mile-long driveway in the Minnesota winter snow because her love of singing was irrepressible.
7-year-old Meghan would squeal with delight when her parents organized her annual obstacle course for her birthday party with friends. Side note: my parents were totally ahead of their time and events like Tough Mudder and The Warrior Dash have NOTHING on Meghan Krause’s birthday parties in the early to mid-80s.
7-year-old Meghan would feel sad when she saw a classmate be treated unfairly.
7-year-old Meghan balled her eyes out when her pet pig, Heathcliffe, was sent to slaughter after the Waseca County Fair, without her getting to say goodbye
7-year-old Meghan loved racing her brother down their gravel driveway, even though her bike didn’t have brakes
7-year-old Meghan had to wear an “I talk too much” sign for a day in Mrs. Wenzel’s class
And 7-year-old Meghan shouted “Where’s the Beef?” like the iconic Wendy’s grandma as a ruse to get a laugh out of her stoic grandparents when they took her to McDonald’s
Somewhere between my 7-year-old self and my late 30s, I lost that effervescent spark. Not because it wasn’t always there. But because I was taught to hide it. The idea that I could derive and create sheer joy in almost any situation? That’s pure folly...and I needed to be serious. It was as though I lacked rigor and a commitment to excellence if I was also laughing and playing and inviting others to do the same. The only exception is wedding dances or dancing in general. Like that time on the Croatian island of Hvar, when out of the blue, I decided to jump into the splits among my 40, fellow trip mates (mostly strangers) for a laugh. The joke was on me, though, because I didn’t pop right back up from the splits and was stuck on the ground until 3 nice men raced to my aid.
But aside from dancing? My life force was generally suppressed in favor of doing things for the reward they provided. This transactional approach wasn’t unique to me, though. I imagine you might recognize it within yourself, too. Am I right? If so, then it’s no surprise that you’re feeling stuck or stifled right now.
We all have a tendency to lose touch with what we loved as a child. And here’s the even bigger plot twist: if my 7-year-old self asked my 20-year-old self, “Why don’t you sing with abandon anymore?” I’d have said, “Because I’ve learned how to sing with proper technique,” or “Because nobody would want to hear that,” or “Because I don’t want to ruin my voice.” Not only would I have been completely wrong, but that 7 year-old-girl version of me would have probably started crying. That 7-year-old girl didn’t care about vocal master class critiques or getting a rousing round of applause. She just wanted to create joy and play.
So now that you know a little bit about 7-year-old Meghan, I want to know about you. Specifically, what’s true about you today that would make your 7-year-old self cry?
When you consider this question, you’re essentially clarifying two things:
Which childhood passion(s) you lost to adulthood
What activity you should revisit, just for the fun of it, to unlock greater self-awareness
You now have two guiding questions to help you unlock your purpose. You can take this work deeper when you join me inside Purpose Camp Just go to meghankrause.com to get started.
